Important litigation papers must be filed by counsel with the County Clerk. The chief among these are:

Summons and complaint or summons with notice

Petition (special proceedings)

CPLR 3213 motion papers

Proof of service of summons and complaint

Poor person order

Notice of appeal

Proposed judgments for signature by the County Clerk

Except in electronically-filed cases, all of these documents must be submitted by counsel to Room 141B (in the basement at 60 Centre Street). Papers commencing a case are submitted to the Cashier in that room with an index number purchase form and fee. For a sample of this form, click here. For information on fees, click here. Subsequent papers for filing are submitted to the Law and Equity desk in that room except for proposed judgments for signature by the County Clerk, which are to be presented to the Judgment Clerk there. A Request for Judicial Intervention (2011 version)(with in some instances an RJI addendum), a note of issue and a jury demand must be paid for in Room 160. The last two of these three must be filed with the Motion Support Office (Room 119).

Except in electronically-filed cases, initiating papers in special proceedings and moving papers in CPLR 3213 motion/actions are filed as follows:

Special Proceedings: Counsel should file the original petition with the County Clerk (Room 141B) to commence a special proceeding. The notice of petition is not filed with the County Clerk. CPLR 304. In a special proceeding, a duplicate original of the petition, the original notice of petition (which is process, the counterpart of the summons, D. Siegel, New York Practice 949 (4th ed. 2005)), and an original affidavit of service shall be filed in the Motion Support Office (Room 119); these are the papers that will be forwarded to the assigned Justice for action. The petitioner may proceed by order to show cause instead of a notice of petition (CPLR 403 (d)); the proposed order should be presented to the Ex Parte Office (Room 315), except in Commercial Division matters, in which cases it should be presented to the Commercial Division Support Office (Room 119 A).

Motion/Actions under CPLR 3213: The original 3213 papers should be filed with the County Clerk (Room 141B). A duplicate original of the 3213 papers and an original affidavit of service in any such motion/action shall be filed with the Motion Support Office (Room 119); these are the papers that will be forwarded to the assigned Justice for action.

Index Numbers: When a hard-copy case is being commenced, the filing party must file the initiating papers with the County Clerk and purchase an index number. Filing means the delivery of the summons with notice, summons and complaint or petition to the County Clerk (Room 141B), or any other person designated by the Clerk for this purpose, together with the filing fee. At the time of filing, the Clerk will date stamp the original and a copy, will file the original, maintaining a record of the date of the filing, and will immediately return the copy to the filing party. CPLR 304. The index number will be issued upon the filing. CPLR 306-a. The Clerk will open a County Clerk's file and create a color-coded file jacket bearing the index number assigned to the case. Papers subsequently presented for filing will be filed in this jacket. Index numbers take the form of six digits followed by a slash and the four digits of the year the case began, e.g., 340705/2011.

Certain blocks or series of index numbers are allotted to particular types of cases. At present, the principal groups of these are:

Index Number Series

100,001 - 150,000

150,001 - 190,000

190,001 - 200,000

200,001 - 250,000

250,001 - 300,000

300,001 - 350,000

350,001 - 400,000

500,001 - 510,000

550,001 - 560,000

570,001 - 580,000

590,001

600,001 - 650,000

650,001 -700,000

800,001 - 804,999

805,001 - 810,000

810,001 - 850,000

850,001 - 900,000

Case Type

Supreme Court (General)

Supreme Court (E-Filing)

Supreme Court (Asbestos)

Tax Certiorari (Writs)

Tax Certiorari (E-Filing)

Matrimonial (Uncontested)

Matrimonial (Contested)

Article 81

Workers Comp

Appellate Term

Third Party

Commercial

Commercial (E-Filing)

Medical Malpractice

Medical Malpractice (E-Filing)

Foreclosure

Foreclosure (E-Filing)

Commencement of Cases: For information on case commencement, click here.

Electronically-Filed Cases: Pursuant to legislation, most recently, Chapter 543 of the Laws of 2011, and an administrative order issued by the Chief Administrative Judge in accordance therewith, all commercial, contract, and tort cases commenced on or after February 27, 2012 in Supreme Court, Civil Branch, New York County, without regard to the amount in controversy, must be filed electronically through the New York State Courts Electronic Filing System ("NYSCEF") and all documents in the case presented for filing with the court thereafter must be e-filed as well. Jurisdiction over the defendant/respondent shall be obtained by service of documents in hard-copy format in the usual manner, together with a Notice of Commencement of Action Subject to Mandatory Electronic Filing (a form accessible in the "Forms" section of the NYSCEF website at the address www.nycourts.gov/efile). Subsequent documents filed with the court shall be filed by submission to the court and the County Clerk via the NYSCEF site. Service thereof will be made automatically through NYSCEF upon all participating counsel and unrepresented parties in the case. There are limited exceptions to the requirement for e-filing in the covered kinds of cases. For more information, see Uniform Rules 202.5-b and 202.5-bb and the Protocol on Courthouse Procedures for Electronically Filed Cases, which is accessible on the E-Filing page of this site.

The NYSCEF site will lead the filer through the filing process for commencement and subsequent documents. An index number will be assigned by the County Clerk promptly after the filing of commencement documents and the filer will be notified electronically. Filing fees shall be paid to the County Clerk on-line by credit or bank card (Visa, Mastercard, or American Express).

In the limited circumstances in which the rules permit a party to file a document in hard copy form in an e-filed case, the document must be filed bearing, firmly affixed as the back page facing out, a Notice of Hard Copy Submission - E-Filed Case. Some Justices require that working copies of documents that have been e-filed (e.g., motion papers) be submitted for the use of the Justice during deliberation, after which the documents are discarded. Working copies must be submitted bearing, firmly affixed as the back page facing out, a Confirmation Notice, a notification that is generated by NYSCEF upon the filing of a document with the system. The filing of one notice or the other is essential whenever a document is filed in paper form (either permissible original or required working copy) in e-filed cases. For more information, consult the Protocol. To access the Notice of Hard Copy Submission, click here.

Requests for Judicial Intervention: As alluded to above, in 2011, a new form of RJI and a number of addenda thereto were issued. The 2011 form must be used. Uniform Rule 202.6 (b) was modified to require that an RJI be filed, without fee, for certain applications that previously did not require any RJI (e.g., uncontested matrimonials). For additional information, click here. An RJI must be submitted in duplicate, with proof of service (unless the application is ex parte).

Third-Party Actions: A defendant who wishes to proceed against a non-party must file and serve a third-party summons and complaint. This third-party action will be an appendage of the main action. The defendant-third-party plaintiff is required to pay a filing fee for the third-party action. CPLR 1007. The County Clerk will not add a new index number to the caption to reflect the third-party action; an index number identifies an entire case (including its appendages) and there can be only one such number per case. The third-party action will, however, be given a separate number for record-keeping purposes, which number need not appear on court papers.

Certification, Transfers, Appeals, etc.: Certified copies of court documents may be obtained at the Certification Window in Room 141B (cost $ 8.00), which also does exemplifications (see CPLR 4540), effects transfers of cases to other courts, handles subpoenaing of records on appeal, and accepts filings of notices of appeal.

Decisions and Orders/Entry: In hard-copy cases, motion files on decided motions and signed long form orders (as for judgments, see Section B below) are delivered to the Motion Support Office (Room 119) from Chambers. The issuance of decisions and orders and decisions directing settlement or submission of a proposed long form order is recorded in the court's Civil Case Information System ("CCIS") computer. The decisions (except for those in matrimonial, Article 81 and sealed cases and those which the assigned Justice has directed not to be posted), are posted, with County Clerk entry stamp, to the Supreme Court Records On-Line Library ("Scroll") on the court's website, generally within two or three hours after the notation is made in CCIS, or overnight if the entry is made at the end of the day. Promptly after information about the issuance of a decision or order is recorded in CCIS, a notification of the issuance of the decision or order is sent by e-mail to attorneys on the case in question who have signed up for, and recorded the case in, the court system's case tracking service, e-Track. Counsel are advised to record all their pending cases in this court in e-Track. The e-Track service is accessible here.

After processing in the Motion Support Office, all decisions, orders, and papers on motions are delivered to the County Clerk (Room 141B). However, where a decision on a motion directs that an order be settled, the file will be retained in the Motion Support Office Order Section or the Commercial Division Support Office (both in Room 119A) to await the submission of the proposed order and any counter-order. These files will not be delivered to the County Clerk until after the long form order has been signed by the Judge. However, the decisions directing settlement of an order will be posted on the court's website.

"Entry" consists of the recording of a document in the County Clerk's minutes (which are available in Scroll for most case types) and the file stamping of the document (the stamp reads "Filed" and the date). Entry gives effect to orders and judgments. Service of a copy of the decision and order or judgment with notice of entry causes the appellate clock to start to tick. "Entry" in the records of the Clerk is done as of the day on which the County Clerk stamps a document with the official stamp.

The County Clerk maintains a list of the entries (e.g., affidavit of service, order) made in the official record ("minutes") of each case. Handwritten minute books exist for cases prior to 1993 and computerized records for all cases from 1993 on. In addition to Scroll, the minutes may be accessed by means of courthouse terminals located in the County Clerk's Office (Rooms 141B, 103B, 109B, and 160).

In electronically-filed cases, the Justice will discard working copies after work on the motion has been concluded. The e-filed version of those documents constitutes the official record of the documents. The Confirmation Notice annexed to the working copy is proof that the document has been filed officially (e-filed). The signed decision and order or long form order of the court in an e-filed case will be entered by the Clerk by scanning of the document into NYSCEF. The date of entry is the date of posting to NYSCEF, which will be indicated by a County Clerk stamp placed thereon. Uniform Rule 202.5-b (h) (1). The posting of the document to NYSCEF will automatically and immediately generate notification by e-mail, with a link to the document, to all participating attorneys and unrepresented parties on the case. This notification doesnot constitute service of notice of entry by any party. Service of notice of entry by any party is done when the party effects service. Uniform Rule 202.5-b (h) (3).

Emergency Entries: Occasionally an emergency will arise requiring expedited entry of a document with the County Clerk (e.g., an order issued in the courtroom after a conference or argument of a critical matter), such as for purposes of an immediate appeal. Expedition can be achieved by the Part as follows: the document should be carried by a Court Officer or staff member to the Motion Support Office to assure immediate and proper recordation in the computer and, as appropriate, the posting of the document to NYSCEF or the Supreme Court Records On-Line Library ("Scroll"). The court will accommodate counsel in emergencies.

Stipulations of Settlement/Discontinuance: All stipulations of settlement/discontinuance should be filed with the County Clerk in Room 160 or, in e-flied cases, filed via NYSCEF. A fee of $ 35 must be paid. CPLR 8020 (d). The defendant is responsible for filing the document and paying the fee. Id. The County Clerk will deliver the stipulation to the relevant court office after processing so that the court can mark its records (CCIS) to reflect the settlement/discontinuance. If a case is resolved at a time when a motion is sub judice, an attorney on the case should be sure to notify the assigned Justice as soon as possible so that the Judge does not waste time working on a motion that has been rendered moot.

B. JUDGMENTS

1) In Special Proceedings

Special proceedings end in judgments, as do normal civil actions. Since it is usual for the decision on the initial motion to end the proceeding, the decision on Motion Sequence No. 001 will often be a decision and judgment.

2) In Civil Actions

Judgments in civil actions present a more complex subject..

Judgments on Default: The County Clerk is empowered by the CPLR to enter judgments on default involving a sum that is certain or can be made so by calculation. The applicant in a hard-copy case must present to the Judgment Clerk in Room 141B a copy of the summons and complaint, a statement for judgment documenting service and the default, and an affidavit by the client as to the merit of the case and the sum certain. An RJI is not required. In cases not involving a sum certain, the Court must order the entry of judgment on ex parte application or after a motion on notice. If there is a default on the motion and the court cannot direct the Clerk to enter judgment immediately, it will direct an inquest. See CPLR 3215. In e-filed cases an application shall be made to the County Clerk on-line. See the Protocol on Courthouse Procedures for Electronically Filed Cases for an explanation.

A defendant who appeared is entitled to notice. A non-appearing defendant is also entitled to notice if more than one year has elapsed since the default, unless the court orders otherwise. CPLR 3215(g)(1). Where an application must be made to the court, a defendant who has failed to appear may serve a demand for, and is then entitled to, notice of any reference or assessment by a jury. CPLR 3215(g)(2). Additional notice is required for certain default judgments. CPLR 3215(g)(3) and (4).

Judgments after Motions: A decision on a motion will usually be a decision and order. In some instances, the order will direct the Clerk to enter judgment in favor of the plaintiff for a particular sum (again, where that can be determined on papers alone) or in favor of defendant usually dismissing the case. The Clerk will then sign and enter a judgment in accordance with the order of the Court. This will happen when counsel submits to the Judgment Clerk, in hard copy form or, in an e-filed case, via NYSCEF, a judgment in proper form that substantively complies with the order of the court. The court enters judgments automatically only in matrimonial cases. On some motions (e.g., to confirm a referee's report in a foreclosure action) the Justice may sign a judgment. In special proceedings, the decision will usually also be a judgment.

On occasion, the court will issue a decision on a motion on the record. Usually, the court will attach the transcript to the decision form (gray sheet). If not, counsel, to serve notice of entry, should obtain a certified copy of the transcript from the Court Reporter, cause a copy of the transcript to be placed in the County Clerk’s file, and append a copy to a copy of the court’s decision form.

An award of costs and disbursements will be included in the judgment where authorized and when the prevailing party presents a proper bill of costs. Where interest is awarded or provided for statutorily, the Judgment Clerk will calculate the amount of interest. It is customary, in orders signed by the Court that award costs, disbursements or interest, for the Court to direct that the Clerk calculate the amount of interest and tax or compute the costs and disbursements. Where a Justice signs a judgment, blank spaces will usually be left by the Justice for the dollar amount of interest, costs and disbursements, and for the resulting total sum, which spaces will be completed by the Clerk.

Post-Trial Judgments: After a jury trial, the Part Clerk will record the outcome in the minutes. Upon request, for cases of money judgments or judgments of dismissal upon a general verdict (CPLR 5016 (b))(a general verdict is one in which the jury finds in favor of one or more parties (CPLR 4111 (a))), the Part Clerk will issue and sign an "extract" from these minutes, which lists the venue, the index number, the full title of the action, the name of the Justice, the outcome of any motion affecting the caption, the verdict, and the date. The extract must account for all parties and all claims that were not submitted to the jury. Either party can then present to the Judgment Clerk in the County Clerk’s Office for signature and entry a judgment dismissing the case or for a particular sum, as set forth in the extract. The Justice need never sign anything in such cases, neither an order nor the judgment itself, since the jury has provided the verdict.

Where there is a special verdict (which is one in which the jury finds the facts only, leaving it to the court to determine which party is entitled to judgment thereon (CPLR 4111 (a))), the court shall direct entry of an appropriate judgment. CPLR 5016 (b).

When settlement is directed, it occurs in the Part or in Chambers. Where questions arise about how the judgment should be framed, it is recommended that attorneys consult with the Judgment Clerk in Room 141B or the Law Clerk to the Justice.

If the trial is non-jury, the Justice will set forth the outcome on the record or in a written decision and will usually direct that a judgment in conformity therewith be settled or submitted. Whenever equitable relief is granted, the Justice needs to sign the judgment. If equitable relief is denied, the court may direct the County Clerk to enter judgment of dismissal.

3. Entry and Filing

Decisions and orders are recorded in the County Clerk's minutes and filed in the County Clerk's records in the case file jacket, except in e-filed cases. Counsel wishing to serve notice of entry of an order should consult the Supreme Court Records On-Line Library ("Scroll") on this court's website since most decisions and orders will be posted there, very promptly after issuance, with County Clerk entry stamp. In e-filed cases, judgments are posted to NYSCEF and notification thereof is provided by the Clerk through NYSCEF, which does not constitute service of notice of entry by any party.

Executed judgments are not entered and filed by the Clerk on his own (except in matrimonial cases). Rather, in a hard-copy case, the County Clerk awaits the arrival of counsel or a representative in person at the Judgment Clerk's desk with a bill of costs to secure the calculation of costs, disbursements, and interest and entry of the judgment and to effect the preparation of a judgment roll. Documentation of contractual interest rates may have to be submitted to the Judgment Clerk. The Clerk will not enter judgment without the creation of a judgment roll, which consists of the basic papers in the case (pleadings, orders, admissions, etc.). Most of these papers may be in the County Clerk's case file, in which event the attorney seeking entry of judgment need only present those that are missing for inclusion in the judgment roll. CPLR 5017.

The court's Scroll program will contain copies of judgments in unfiled form, denominated as such, in cases included within the ambit of Scroll and will later include a copy of each judgment as filed.

In e-filed cases, entry of a judgment may be sought by request to the County Clerk. The proposed judgment with bill of costs, and interest calculations and supporting information shall be submitted on-line with a Certificate Requesting Entry of Judgment in Electronically-Filed Case, a form available in the "Forms" section of the NYSCEF site. See the Protocol on Courthouse Procedures for Electronically Filed Cases. The attorney will certify by means of the Certificate form the documents that constitute the judgment roll.

C. THE COUNTY CLERK'S RECORD ROOM

The County Clerk operates a Record Room (Room 103B in the basement, hours 9:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M.) for maintenance of case files in all pending matters (2001 forward). Files in old matters are archived. For further information, click here.

1. Sealing of Files

Matrimonial files may not be inspected except by counsel or parties to the case. DRL § 235. In addition, the files in other cases may be sealed on an individual basis by court order. See Part 216 of the Uniform Rules for the Trial Courts, which provides that the Court shall not enter an order sealing a file in whole or in part except upon a written finding of good cause specifying the grounds, taking into account the interests of the parties and the public. A sealing order should be an order separate from other orders and a copy should be directed to be served on the County Clerk; unless the attorneys make such service and thereby bring the order to the County Clerk's particular attention (see CPLR 8019 (c)) or a member of court staff delivers the order to the Motion Support Office for entry in the court's computer record and thereafter to the County Clerk, again advising him of the nature of the order, the file will not be sealed because the County Clerk cannot read all orders that are delivered to him for filing. This order must state who is entitled to see the sealed file. Absent clarity on this point, the County Clerk will seal the file and let no one see it, including the parties and counsel in the case. Usually, attorneys will want to have the order provide for access to the sealed file by attorneys of record in the case, the parties, and persons designated in writing by the attorneys of record (e.g., paralegals).

In e-filed cases, an attorney may apply for an order directing the sealing of the file in whole or in part. If the court issues such an order, the attorney should e-file a copy of it with a Notification for Sealing in Electronically-Filed Case, a form available on the "Forms" page of the NYSCEF site. The County Clerk will, during regular business hours, seal the file as directed by the court. For more information on sealing in e-filed cases, consult the Protocol.

In some instances, entire case files may be sealed. Under Part 216, however, case files may be sealed in part and there may well be instances in which it would not be appropriate to seal more than a part of a case file. See DancoLaboratoriesLtd.v.ChemicalWorks, 274 A.D.2d 1, 711 N.Y.S.2d 419 (1st Dept. 2000). Thus, some files in the County Clerk’s Office or in NYSCEF may be sealed in their entirety while others may be sealed in part. Any sealing order entered in a case should clearly indicate whether the entire file is to be sealed; if not, the order must clearly designate the portions that are to be so treated. Further, on each occasion during the course of a case when a portion of the file is to be sealed, a separate partial sealing order must be issued.

Documents produced during discovery but not filed are, of course, subject to such protective orders as the court may issue pursuant to CPLR 3103.

For more information, contact the County Clerk's Office.

2. Commencing Actions Claimed To Be Confidential

If a party wishes to commence an action under seal or use an anonymous caption, practical problems arise. The County Clerk cannot do either without a court order. However, since the newsmedia are given access to new case filings each day, if a party files a summons and complaint and then seeks a sealing order in the normal manner, the confidentiality of the case is likely to be rendered moot at the outset. A filing made in the routine way will also be listed in the County Clerk’s minutes and the listing will appear in electronic attorney's services.

Sealing: Accordingly, if a party wishes to seal a file from the start, the attorney should present a proposed order to show cause with TRO to the Ex Parte Office or the Commercial Division Support Office without an index number having been obtained. The office will present the papers to a Justice for partial signature of the TRO. If the TRO is signed, the papers should then be presented to the County Clerk’s Office (Law and Equity Section) for the issuance of an index number and sealing in accordance with the TRO.

If a party follows the steps outlined above and delivers to the County Clerk a summons and complaint and if the complaint contains sensitive information that the plaintiff wishes to have sealed, the plaintiff, of course, cannot be assured that the Justice to whom the case is assigned will approve the request for a TRO sealing the file pending a hearing or decision on the main sealing request. Should the TRO be denied, the County Clerk will proceed to file the summons and complaint in the normal manner, meaning that those documents will be publicly accessible. Counsel should realize that it is possible that this may occur before the plaintiff has a chance to appeal the rejection of the TRO. The County Clerk will not return the documents to the plaintiff if plaintiff seeks not to proceed with the case because a sealing order has been denied. Since an index number will have already been issued and the documents delivered to the County Clerk for filing, the Clerk will file them.

A plaintiff may assure avoidance of disclosure of sensitive information in a complaint in the event that a TRO sealing a file is denied. The plaintiff can do this by filing a summons with notice and describing the case for sealing in the papers supporting the order to show cause. If the sealing order is denied, the plaintiff can either discontinue the action or file a complaint lacking in sensitive detail. In the alternative, the plaintiff can file a summons and a complaint lacking in sensitive detail and amend that complaint as required if the sealing application is granted.

Anonymous Caption: If a party wishes to proceed using an anonymous caption, he or she should bring on an order to show cause, with the real parties named in the caption, seeking an anonymous caption and a sealing order since presumably the applicant will not want to obtain an anonymous caption and yet leave the file open to public access. The OSC should include a TRO providing a directive that the County Clerk issue an index number under an anonymous caption and seal the file pending the return date on the order to show cause or decision thereon. Before the papers are filed with the County Clerk, they should be submitted to the Ex Parte Office or the Commercial Division Support Office. They will be presented to an Ex Parte Justice, who, if in agreement, will initial the TRO. The papers can then be presented to the County Clerk senior staff, identified above (not the normal filing window in Room 141 B), for the issuance of an index number under an anonymous caption and sealing. The papers can then be filed and an RJI purchased. The back office to which the papers are submitted (the Ex Parte Office or the Commercial Division Support Office) should be informed that the papers being submitted are covered by a TRO sealing the file. The papers should be presented to the assigned Justice for further action. Normally, the matter will proceed anonymously at least until the return date on the OSC, at which time the adversary will have an opportunity to explain why confidentiality should not be continued.

E-Filed Cases: For procedures regarding an application for a sealing order or an order directing sealing of a file and an anonymous caption in an e-filed case, see the Protocol on Courthouse Procedures for Electronically Filed Cases.

D. APPEALS

Notices: Notices of appeal must be filed with the County Clerk in Room 141B. The current fee is $ 65. No personal checks are accepted. A New York State attorney's check or a postal money order made out to the New York County Clerk, or a Visa, Mastercard, or American Express credit card is required.

The Notice of Appeal must be filed in duplicate. In one legal back an original Notice of Appeal with original proof of service must be filed. In a second, separate back an original Notice of Appeal, a Pre-Argument Statement, and a copy of the entered order or judgment from which appeal is to be taken must be filed. An appeal can be taken from only one order or judgment. As to the content of the Pre-Argument Statement, see Section 600.17 of the Rules of the Appellate Division, First Department.

If necessary, a corrected or amended Notice of Appeal can be filed (no fee required). The submission requirements are the same as for a Notice of Appeal except that the Notice must be the corrected/amended one and bear on the first page a statement as to what is being corrected or amended. In addition, at the time of filing, the filer shall present the original receipt of payment showing the original number. The same procedure should be followed if the document being corrected/amended is the Pre-Argument Statement.

State and City agencies can proceed without fee. Any such agency must, however, submit a letter on original letterhead bearing the original signature of the attorney of record.

The fee for a Cross-Notice of Appeal is $ 65. An original thereof, together with proof of service and a copy of the order/judgment in question must be filed in a legal back. In a separate legal back, an original Cross-Notice must also be filed.

For appeals to the Court of Appeals, the fee is $ 65. An original Notice of Appeal, plus original proof of service, must be filed in one separate legal back. In another, an original Notice must also be filed.

Subpoenaing the File: Pursuant to the rules of the First Department, appeals can be taken on a printed record, or an original one. In the case of appeals on the original record, the record is transferred to the Appellate Division as follows (fee - $ 25.00). The appellant should deliver to the County Clerk's Record Room (Room 103B) a signed attorney's subpoena (the subpoena of a self-represented litigant must be so ordered by a Justice) specifying the file to be transferred and the destination. The subpoena must be accompanied by four copies of a form of Certificate and two copies of a Statement of Attorney, signed by counsel, as well as two Pre-Argument Statements or 5531 Statements. In the Certificate, counsel must list each paper in the file that is being subpoenaed, one by one, by type of document and date of filing with the County Clerk's Office, in conformity with the County Clerk's listing in the case minutes, which are accessible in the "Supreme Court Records On-Line Library" ("Scroll"), available on this website. If the document was not filed in the County Clerk's Office, it cannot be listed on the Certificate, but should be included in the Statement of Attorney.

Counsel should retrieve the file from the Record Room, put the papers listed on the Certificate in the order listed, and bring the file and accompanying papers to the Certification counter in Room 141B, where the papers will be reviewed. Hours: 9-11AM or 1:30-2:30 PM.

Two business days are required between service of the subpoena and delivery to the First Department.

If the file being subpoenaed is that in an Article 78 proceeding for transfer to the Appellate Division, the procedures are basically the same. The fee, though, is $ 25.00. The Certificate for a case of this type differs slightly from the standard one.

E. JUDGMENT DOCKET AND LIEN SECTION

The County Clerk records judgments, liens and notices of pendency electronically. The Section is located in Room 109B at 60 Centre Street. Satisfactions of judgment are filed in this Section, not in the Law and Equity Section. Transcripts of judgment are issued and filed in this Section.

F. DEPOSITING MONEY WITH THE COUNTY CLERK

From time to time a need arises in litigation for a party to deposit money with the court. The money is deposited with the County Clerk; payment must be in cash or by certified check. But the Clerk does not hold onto this money for more than a brief time (perhaps 24-48 hours). He forwards the money to the New York City Department of Finance, which records the deposit, secures the money in an account and administers that account. When the time comes to pay that money out to someone, a court order releasing the money is required. That order must be directed to the Department of Finance, not to the County Clerk, who, as indicated, will no longer have possession of the funds. The Department of Finance will issue a certificate (known as a certificate of deposit) to the party seeking the money reporting on the amount of money in the account at the time of the inquiry. The order should refer to the account and the amount therein and direct the Department to release the money as the court requires, less the 2 % fee of the Department.